The Four Kingdoms
by AnonymouseXI
Summary: Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms - Iron, Lapis, Gold, and Diamond. But through a misunderstanding the peace was shattered and replaced with a 20 year war. This threat looms over the small town of Heline, stationed in-between the four. So when two adults are sent to tell the Iron kingdom of Lapis it changes into a journey of life and death. Bad with summaries, sorry.
1. The Beginning

**A.N. - If you don't like to read Author notes, please skim over the bold.**

Welcome to my first story! If you've come here on accident, then sorry about that. If you willing clicked on it, I hope you enjoy what I'm writing. Normally I don't finish my stories but I'm going to try to finish this one. I really don't know how to do these kind of things, nor am I good with author notes and such.

First of all, I will apologize ahead of time if I'm stealing anyone's idea, and **a****pologies for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.** I'm only one person, but I try. **Also, this _is_ set in minecraftia, and the mobs are going to be featured next chapter. Just think of it as minecraft with food and mo' animal mods.  
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**Heads up: **this story is most likely going to be **an****gsty, drama-ey, adventurous-ey, friendshippy, action-ey **and **f****antasy-ey**. This is a friends idea, he told me to make a story, so I jumped onto it and this is what's going to be written. If possible,** please point out errors** and such **so I can correct it**.

**Constructive criticism is welcome**, I really don't want to write a boring story (although it may end up that way, sorry ^-^'). **Flames are also accepted, just please tell me what I can do to improve instead of just going "Omg this suks, mork mork mork."** I've been told to write with less detail, and as much as I try it's kind of hard because it ends up too broad.** Sorry if** **the first chapter is kind of sad and drama-ey**.

OK I'm done rambling. Please enjoy, if it's enjoyable. If it's not your cup of tea, sorry. **Also, I need a better title.**

* * *

Once upon a time, there were four kingdoms that ruled the land.

Iron – who was strong and brave; with the best trained army in the land they could win most, if not any battle with 1:3 ratios. Led by Lord Vahe, he is determined to keep his kingdom big and strong.

Lapis – The craftsmen of the world. Their ruthless, almost barbaric tactics combined with the strongest weaponry creates one of the most deadly combos seen by all opposing forces. Ruled with an iron fist by Lord Despar, he keeps everything in line.

Gold – A kingdom of beauty. Leading the most populace kingdom is Queen Lana. The army by this land is almost as well trained as Iron and close in weaponry to Lapis, but with double the population size of all other kingdoms.

Diamond – Wealth and fortune grace this metropolis. Queen Marie Revunae holds this kingdom together with her wits and skill. Their army is very small, dwindling even; but it doesn't stop Marie from competing with Iron and Gold in training.

All it took was one misunderstanding and everything burst into flames. A war broke out between the four – one so unforgiving and disastrous it has impacted the four in irreversible ways. Gold is losing weaponry fast, and with such a big army it has begun to be an issue. All attempts to negotiate with Lapis fall short of expectations and none of the messengers ever come back. Diamond's population is spiraling downwards with constant raids by Lapis and a (seemingly) incurable sickness. Iron has lost a good portion of its army to Lapis – news of them becoming POW's is difficult to believe. Lord Despar has fallen into a depression so thick; his own son can't shake him out of it. For twenty years this war has raged on with no visible end.

Sitting in the middle of the war is one small village named Heline. No soldiers bothered them, nor have any weapons been drawn in the quaint town.

A chicken ruffled its feathers inside of a pen, and the head rooster crowed.

It was the beginning of a new day – one that would change everyone forever.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, half covered by clouds. The clanging of chainmail and heavy footsteps rang out. It was something new to Samael. News of the wars between the four major regions was not new, nor was it surprising; what was surprising though were the soldiers marching through the town. It was new to everyone living in the small town of Heline. Holding a steady population of 170 (give or take you don't count the people that go missing), it was a very peaceful town. The village was untouched by the war, much to the happiness of many people. But now with the platoon storming through most of the people had abandoned their chores and activities to watch them pass on by.

"Samael check it out, they have prisoners!" One of his friends cried – a 5'4'' girl by the name of Genesis. She was his best childhood friend, and the only one he had kept. She had dirt brown hair and Emerald green eyes. One of the blue armored soldiers stalked by with a glare towards the two 20 year olds but they ignored it in favor of looking at the prisoners. They were all chained with iron shackles, donned iron armor and hunched over. The group looked utterly defeated. One female turned towards Samael with hardened brown eyes; underneath that though was a swirl of emotions just begging to be let out. She opened her mouth and whispered something but was immediately kicked back into line by a guard wielding a shimmering bow. It didn't stop Samael from knowing what she had wanted to say.

"_Please help us._"

"Excuse me, what do you think you are doing trampling all over my farm," A mother growled at a guard who stepped on a line of carrots. Her child clung onto her pale pink dress in fear. "You can't just come in here and start stepping on stuff you don't own!"

"Step away ma'am, I'm only going to ask you once," the soldier snarled at her, reaching towards his sword slowly. She twisted her face into a frown.

"Not until you apologize, it took me damn long to grow these and," those were her last words before her blonde haired head sailed across the farm and landed in a patch of cabbages. Her body stood its ground for a couple of seconds before following and slumping onto the ground. The child watched blood pool under the body before looking up at the soldier with fearful eyes.

"M-mummy…" she quietly said before collapsing in sobs.

The town was no longer untouched. It was tainted with the blood of the innocent.

Samaels' eyes widened at the barbaric display. Blood had splattered against the fence and the windows of the house, not to forget all over the childs small dress. He had known the woman that was living just moments ago – A kind lady by the name of Lisa. She had recently given birth to her second child and was pregnant with a third that would never come. He felt Genesis hesitantly reach to his arm and hold it.

"_She… He… The…Nnngh…_" He felt her whole body shake against him and start sobbing. He would cry later. For now, he had to do **something**. A couple more women behind him choked on their own cries, while some men started yelling obscenities. The guards ignored everything else and ushered the prisoners out of the town as fast as they could. Within minutes the whole town was fuming with angry tears.

"Muh-muh-mummy-y-y-y-y…" the six-year old wailed and clung to her mother. Samael slowly walked up to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She didn't stop and sobbed harder.

"Samael!" A person screamed from the other side of the street. He turned to see a flash of red hair and blue eyes assault him, knocking him down in the process. "Oh, my baby I thought the soldiers had hurt you, are you ok?"

"Yes mom, I'm fine," he muttered through squished cheeks. His blue eyes flickered to the child. Her name was Jane. She had lost her father in a mining accident when a run in with a creeper didn't go so well. That was shortly after the third baby was conceived. Samaels' mother turned towards the child and covered her mouth. Blood was still dribbling out of Lisa's neck but slowing due to the clotting. Everyone here was a fast clotter - they needed to be. "Mother, we need to get Jane and her brother out of here," Samael quickly said before she passed out. Kendra quickly turned and nodded, scooping the child up in her arms with fervor and rushing inside the house. Samael turned back towards the body and bit the inside of his cheeks.

_How does this kind of thing happen so suddenly_?

He stood up and shook his head. Nothing seemed right at the current moment and it felt fuzzy like a dream. But it wasn't.

"Weren't those Lapis soldiers?"

Samael turned around to see Genesis with tears running down her cheeks. Her bottom lip was trembling.

"I think so," He watched her lean down and grabbed the body by its shoulders, motioning for him to grab her legs. Samael grabbed the legs and helped her pick it up. They carried her to the back area to dig a hole for her.

"Well they had Iron soldiers with them, but why?"

He contemplated this. It _was_ odd indeed. He heard stories of the ruthlessness of Lord Despars' army. Why would they suddenly change and capture enemy troops? While he mused about this, Genesis grabbed a shovel and tossed it to him. He started digging a hole to dump Lisa in.

"I don't know. It's strange when you think about it," he replied. Genesis fetched the head of Lisa, hesitating for a good three seconds before another sob came out of her. "Hurry, toss it into the hole," Samael encouraged quickly, not ready to see her cry again. It wrenched his heart to know he could do **nothing** to bring her back, or to stop Genesis from crying.

"H-how _could they do… something like this…"_ she whispered and put her hands on her eyes. "Why couldn't…"

"We couldn't have done anything about it, please stop," He quietly said and hugged her. She sobbed into his blue shirt.

"Who's going to take care of Jane and Ian…?"

"My mother," Samael stated. "She's cleaning them up right now and she's going to take them back to my house."

"Alright…" another small wail sputtered out of her but she pulled back. "Let's finish burying Lisa…"

The duo had Lisa's body completely buried and the blood cleaned up by sundown. Samael was quite tired, and Genesis was already on the border of sleep and consciousness. He wrapped an arm under her arms and hoisted her up bridal style. He took note of the peaceful look upon her face, unconsciously knowing it would be the last time he saw her so innocent.

And then it hit him in the middle of the street. hg

The events from earlier had caught up to him and he relived Lisa's decapitation as if it was his own mothers. He _was_ the girl from before, and watched his mothers' blood splatter over the fence and his face. The red liquid was warm but thick. It dribbled slowly down and slid in-between his lips.

"Mah… Mommy… Mahmmy…" He clutched at her blue dress and cried out. "No! Wake up!"

It sounded like someone else's voice and his combined but he couldn't focus. All he saw was blood and destruction lain out before him. Something crumbled near Samael and threated to slowly suffocate him. "Dear notch!"

His hands gripped at the gravel below him and his eyes focused back to reality. A hand was on his shoulder while another arm wrapped around his torso. He slowly lifted up his hands and flipped them over to see red droplets forming.

"No…" His cheeks puffed out and he vomited on the road below him.

"Shhh… It's ok," A familiar voice called out to him. He looked at her and tears welled up in his eyes. Strands of saliva dribbled down his mouth and stuck to his cheek and chin. Kendra searched his face and smiled when she saw he wasn't gone. "Are you ok now Sam?" she asked and furrowed her brow. He reached one hand up to touch her – to make sure she was there. His hand gently touched her face and he barked out a cry.

"They just… they killed her!" He was about to go into hysterics. Something had planted itself inside his head and threatened his sanity.

"I know," she gently helped him up and guided him to the house. The door opened and out rushed a worried father.

"Oh Sam I heard the news. Are you holding out buddy?" His dad has always been supportive, and news of the murder had him very, very worried. Sam just stared up at him blankly. "Come on, let's get you inside."

In the trio went for the night.

* * *

Genesis was up early. After witnessing Samaels breakdown she rushed to his house and alerted his mother. She knew he needed her, and not a best friend. Shortly after watching the scene from her window, she went to bed.

Waking up was a chore, because she never woke up so early. The sun was barely above the horizon when she rolled out of her bed with a groan.

"Get up," she told herself. Slowly, her feet touched the ground and made her way to the kitchen. Her parents were always up before her, tending to the farms. They left a couple loafs of bread, a bag of cheese, and a bucket of milk on the counter for her today. Before she could tear a piece of bread off it almost dropped at the sight of Samael walking in the street with a slouch.

_What is he…_ she noticed him carrying a backpack and two swords strapped to his hips. He was headed to the north gate, where the Iron kingdom lay beyond that.

_Why are you going there?_ Genesis panicked and grabbed her nearby sack, filling it with the food her parents left her along with more from the nearby fridge. She dashed up to her room grabbing two towels, a couple pairs of clothes and the bow she kept on her at all times. Her quiver was nearby so she picked that up too. Before she left, she quickly scribbled something on a piece of nearby paper.

_Dear mom and dad_

_I'm going to the Iron kingdom with Samael. Please don't worry, we can protect ourselves._

_Love, Genesis._

This was wrong, she knew it. But she couldn't just let him go alone; not after his little breakdown. He was always somewhat weak when he was younger, and would get pushed around a lot. He would normally cry afterwards. But maybe that meant he was emotionally strong, she didn't know nor did she feel like figuring it out at this exact moment. He was almost to the forest bordering the town when she called his name from down the street.

"Samael, I'm coming with you!" He turned around and opened his eyes wide. He had hoped he was leaving early enough to keep her from coming, but it looked like she was up earlier than normal today. She continued jogging until she was within 3 or so meters and slowed to a walk.

"Oh no you're not, I don't think so," He walked to her and grabbed her shoulders. She defiantly stared up at him with a scowl.

"Yes I am. Why are you even going there in the first place?"

"Mother said I should go tell Lord Vahe about his Army. Why are you wanting to go," He asked and narrowed his eyes. She could barely see the blue underneath when he squinted.

"Because, I've seen you in combat and you suck, to put it bluntly."

Samaels face flushed and he opened his mouth. "I do not suck." Genesis puffed out her cheeks. "Well not as bad as you think I do."

"Tough luck, I'm going too because I know you can't handle some of the monsters."

He had to try one last thing to get her to stay; he didn't want her coming for more reasons that one. "What about your parents?" It was a low blow and he knew it. Her face turned pale and she bit her bottom lip.

"They can... they can function without me... I think... Oh..." Genesis looked at the ground and grit her teeth. She was the hunter of the family - occasionally butchering the cows for them because they couldn't handle the sight of blood. They would tend to the farms and normally come home with a good harvest. If worst came to worst, they could always go to Samaels parents. She looked up more determined than ever. He wasn't expecting her to do this. "If they need help they know to go to your family. Honestly, did you really have to go there?"

Samael didn't, but he just didn't want her to go. He knew he couldn't be bothered to talk her out of it, and sighed defeated. "Fine, but stay back so you don't get in my way." He turned around and brushed the blonde hair out of his face.

It was a two day walk, half a day on horseback. The forest between the town and the kingdoms was dense, almost impossibly so. Tree's seemed to border their town, making it hard to leave if someone wasn't on the gravel pathways. He glanced back to take a look at her gear. A backpack probably filled with food, a stone sword strapped to her hip and a bow slung on her shoulder along with the quiver at her hip. Her shirt was a light blue and her pants were darker blue. She looked like she had enough stuff for two days but he didn't know what was in-between here and the kingdom.

As much as he didn't want her coming, he was happy to have her at his side – and covering his back.

"So, are we leaving sometime before I grow old?" she interrupted his thoughts and giggled. He smiled and nodded.

"As long as you can catch up to me," and with that he turned and ran into the forest. Genesis blinked a couple of times before grinning.

"Oh you bet I can!" Genesis took off into the forest after him, taking care to stay on the gravel path. After all, that's how one would get lost.

* * *

**A.N.** If you're reading this, congrats on making it through the first chapter. Next chapter will hopefully be less sad, and more action-ey cause I know people like action. One last apology, sorry if it's very amateur. I don't have anyone to proof-read so I'm alone on that. Thanks for reading, and please give feedback!


	2. Forest of Illusions

**A.N.**

Oh man, did I just update? I updated. I feel happy now, yay. Thank you for favoriting/following you two, and for the anonymous reviewer. I will try to clear up anything I find that get's confusing (and if it's still confusing within a couple chapters tell me so I can fix/explain it).

Now about this chapter: This chapter was really hard to write, mainly because I was trying to make it semi-interesting. It's kind of a filler, but I didn't want to just say 'and they walked through the forest and got to the iron kingdom hardehar' that would be boring. Not to say this chapter itself isn't boring, but it has more action than the last one. I suck at writing action truthfully, so sorry if it's stale and kind of bleh. Next chapter is the iron kingdom, which i want to do in one full chapter but it'd probably be kind of long so I'm winging it.

Also, I have a weird headcanon where creepers live in trees. I don't know why but it makes sense to me because whenever I see a creeper it's always in the forest and boy are they abundant. Alright, on with the chapter! Review if you want, favorite/follow if you want and thank you if you do.

* * *

The forest was dark when they entered. It seemed to swallow them whole, leaving no light to be seen. Luckily, Samael had a couple of torches which he lit up for him and Genesis.

"Oh my Notch it's so dark," Genesis complained and stomped on the gravel below them. The pathway stretched out further into the forest, completely vanishing from sight 15 meters ahead of them. She stopped huffing when Samael handed her a torch.

"Want to turn back yet?" He asked and turned his head to face her. The torch only lit up half of her face but she puffed her cheeks and stuck her tongue out at him.

"In your dreams," she muttered and jogged to catch up.

They walked in complete and utter silence for hours; save for the wind that whistled through the trees occasionally. The gravel had eventually disappeared and turned into a well-worn dirt pathway. They could barely make out the tree shapes close to the edge of the road and knew nothing of what lay inside the actual forest.

A low growl interrupted their thoughts and they stopped.

"What was that?" Samael quietly asked. Genesis took a look around and was about to say something when the growl came back again, louder. He looked at her and she looked down.

"Sorry… I skipped breakfast to catch up to you." She gave him a sheepish grin and he just laughed.

"Well, first let's see what time of the day it is." He reached into his backpack and groped about for a watch but flustered when his hands came up empty. "Oh, I know I have one in here."

Genesis opened her own bag and sighed when her stomach growled, followed by another one.

"Don't say a word," he growled at her. She bit back a laugh and smirked instead. "Damn it, I think I left my watch at home."

"Well you can go back, I'll go on ahead to tell the kingdom," Genesis suggested and earned a glare from Samael. She sauntered a couple of steps ahead of him before turning around when he mentioned her name.

"Did you bring a watch?"

Her face paled. "Uhm… No. I only brought food and some clothes." Samael dug his torch into the dirt pathway and sighed.

"Alright then, it looks like we're going to have to find out the time of day the old fashioned way."

"What are you…," she watched him walk to a nearby tree and barked out a laugh. "Oh no, let me do this – you can't climb tree's to save your life." He pushed her away when she reached for the tree he was about to climb.

"I can climb trees just fine," He rebutted and blew a raspberry at her. She stepped back with a hand over her heart, feigning hurt.

"Oh, says the guy who got stuck in one. Shove off." She took a step forward and sprung up onto the trunk. Samael pursed his lips together and grabbed onto the bark to follow her. Genesis reached for the first branch and hauled herself up. "You can't catch up to me! I told you to let me climb, you're too slow anyways."

"No I'm at least ten times faster than you," He replied and sat on the first branch while Genesis continued to climb upwards.

"Oh my gosh that is such an," she lifted herself into the thickest part of the tree with a grunt, "overstatement." Her friend slowly followed and hefted himself onto the branch closest to her with a glare. She just rolled her eyes with a smile. Genesis looked down and raised her eyebrows. "Wow, it's really dark. I can't even see the ground." She heard Samael sigh and looked up. "I can't even see the top of this tree, let alone any light. I think it's night time, let's climb back down."

"What, scared or something?"

Genesis shook her head and spun around to look at him. He was still climbing higher but she had stopped.

"No, I just." The leaves swallowed Samael up and she couldn't see him anymore. Somehow an uneasy feeling wormed its way into her stomach. "Hey, get back down here I think it's night time let's just set up a camp."

"Whiiiiiimp," he called from above her and climbed higher. He also had the uneasy feeling but ignored it. Finally after a couple more minutes of climbing he breached fresh air. The sun was setting, and he agreed with setting up a camp. He was about to start climbing back down when a scream erupted from below him.

Genesis was on the way back down when something snagged her foot. It caused a knee-jerk reaction and she reached out to the nearest branch, letting out a yelp. Her body swung as she tried grabbing onto a branch, successfully grabbing and ripping off a bunch of leaves in the process. A hiss sounded to where she grabbed and she stopped moving completely. Her hand was latched onto a leg of the Creeper who was sitting directly in front of her, apparently trying to sleep. It swiveled its long, leafy body around and looked at the offending human who grabbed him. Lucky for Genesis, it didn't see her and only saw the remnants of broken branches. She bit her lip and closed her eyes tight as it continued to look around before curling up to sleep again, but before it fell asleep one of its four feet managed to step on her other hand. Her eyes watered as they shot open and she made a whimpering noise. She never knew Creepers slept in trees. Quietly she let go of the mossy monster and dropped down a couple of branches, snapping three and grabbing onto a thick one below her. Something rustled behind her and she hardly had time to react when an arm grabbed her around the waist and yanked her out of the tree.

"I swear to holy notch on high get your–," Samael quickly covered her mouth and tried holding her still. He saw the red eyes in the tree, observing – looking for movement it could quickly distinguish.

"_Shut up, that is a creepers nest. Let's hurry up and get out of here and stop your squirming,_" He whispered threateningly, digging his nails into her arm. She calmed down marginally and sucked in her cheeks. The creeper above them was now walking on the branches, scanning the ground below. Nearby were their torches, glowing slightly. She slowly rolled out of Samaels grasp and crawled over to her backpack.

"_Samael, hurry up don't just sit there, get over… here…,_" Genesis looked around the forest pathway because 'Samael' had disappeared.

"Hey Genesis are you alright," Samael cried from above her and she watched the creeper glance upwards. The torchlight barely stretched to the tree but she could've sworn it smiled. It wormed its way into the dark of the tree and she could only assume it was waiting. A few minutes later Samael broke through the branches and hit the ground with a _thump_. "Oh, you are ok. What happened?" He curiously asked her and sat up with a grunt. The journey down hadn't been rough until the end where he dropped through a couple branches Genesis had broken. She quickly covered his mouth and dragged him away from the tree.

"_Shush, there are creepers above us. One of them knows you're here, its hiding_." Genesis grabbed her torch and her backpack as quietly as she could. He stuck his tongue out into her hand and she flinched with a throaty noise. "_Oh notch that is so gross,_" she giggled and uncovered his mouth. Samael grabbed his backpack and slung it onto his shoulder, shrugging.

"I'm not worried, if it was going to attack it would have done so by now," He stated and walked over to his torch staked under the tree. Genesis kept her eyes on the branches above, making sure the creeper wasn't going to ambush them when they least expected it. When no red eyes presented themselves she cautiously walked past the tree and broke into a light jog – Samael not far behind.

The jog slowed to a walk and eventually a crawl. A couple of birds sang overhead and the trees were starting to lighten much to the pair's surprise.

"Hey… can we rest for a couple of minutes," the brown haired girl asked Samael. "My legs hurt and I'm really tired…"

Samael just nodded and dropped his backpack with a thud. He pulled out two camping rolls and unraveled them. They weren't the best by all means, but they were much better than sleeping on the muddy ground. But mud wasn't something he really was expecting. He quickly averted his eyes to where the mud seemed more watery and watched as a frog jumped into the lake near them. Genesis was already standing next to the clear body of water and he turned away to continue setting up the camp.

* * *

It was high noon when he had finished and Genesis was sleeping. Samael rummaged through his backpack for meats he had, pulling out slabs of beef and pork wrapped up in paper, along with firewood and flint. He searched for the steel and smiled when he pulled it out. The clearing they had stopped at had access to the sky, showing a bright sun overhead. It wasn't hot luckily and the pond next to them had not just frogs but fish and other small water creatures. Genesis had spent most of the time watching and playing with them before falling asleep on her mat. Not caring to be quiet, Samael dropped the wood into a small pile and got to work setting it on fire. Eventually he got it to light and the flame was nearly invisible in the sunlight. He fashioned a sugarcane grate to cook the meat on; sugarcane was wonderful for cooking with because it wouldn't burn unless exposed to an extreme amount of heat.

Genesis woke up once the smell of cooking food reached her nose.

"Oh man what smells so good," she groggily asked and rolled over. Sunlight immediately blinded her and she made a frustrated noise.

"Cooking steak, want some?"

Genesis didn't bother replying and scrambled over to the fire. He poked at the meat a couple of times with a stick, listening to it hiss back at him. A small fox darted out from the brush and leapt over the pair. Genesis blinked a couple of times and turned to her hands where there was a lack of bread. She turned to where the fox disappeared and pouted.

"The fox stole the bread I was eating. Damn it."

Genesis stood up and turned towards her backpack but was interrupted by a very rude bird. It swooped down from the treetops and pecked at her head once before diving to her backpack and perching down on it. Genesis growled and dove for the bird but it dodged and perched on her backpack once more.

"Alright bird, what do you want?"

The black and red bird chirped and hopped away from the backpack. Genesis turned back to look at Samael and then the bird.

"Look, I don't have time for your silly games," she whispered. Samael was now looking at her strangely.

"Are you ok Genesis?" He asked, quite concerned. She seemed to be glaring at the ground and talking to nothing. Genesis snapped to attention and frowned.

"Do you not see the bird?"

The bird made a loud screech at being referenced and dug its talons into the ground before flapping its wings vigorously. Sam looked to where she was pointing and shook his head.

"You're probably still tired. Go to sleep and I'll wake you up when the food is done."

Genesis stared at him incredulously. He just smiled and went back to tending to the fire.

A quiet blanket covered the clearing, save for the crackling and hissing of the food. The green eyed girl sighed and turned back to the bird. It chirped loudly and hopped over into the forest. When Genesis didn't follow it, the bird hopped back and pecked her hand. She flinched and swatted at the bird absentmindedly. It squawked and pecked at her again. She sighed loudly and dramatically looked at the offending creature.

"Fine, I'll follow you but I expect an answer," Genesis growled and walked after the bird that now hovered in front of her. Every time she took two steps forward it flew back another five feet and when the leaves blocked out the sunlight the red stripes on its wings glowed. Eventually it stopped at the base of a very thick tree. Genesis marveled at it, looking up and gasping. There seemed to be thousands of the little glowing red birds. The one she was following grew to a massive size and perched on the ground.

"Ok, why did you bring me here? It's pretty and all, but that's about it."

It tilted its head in response before hundreds of voices flooded her mind in one loud squawk.

_I saw you in the tree earlier. That was brave but stupid. The good spirit told you that was a nest, but only a small one._

_Let us show you what a real creepers nest looks like_.

* * *

Samael had the steaks and pork finished and was busy setting up a small fold-up table when he heard Genesis scream. One of the legs snapped on his hand and he quietly cursed. He turned towards the scream and flinched when a couple bright lights lit up the forest. Shortly after, a much frazzled girl sprinted out with a torn shirt.

"Get your stuff and run!" Genesis screamed at him; slinging her backpack, bow, and quiver over her body and running down the pathway opposite to where they came from. He hardly had time to react when she was thrown across the clearing by another explosion. Samael saw it now in the trees; dozens of creepers leaping from branch to branch. One turned to him and hit the ground with a jump. He quickly felt around for his backpack and leapt back when it exploded. Genesis was furiously shooting arrows at the monsters, resorting to whacking one with her bow when it got too close. It fizzled and hissed before deflating into a pile of dead leaves and branches. She spun around and grabbed Samael by the collar of his shirt, sprinting back into the dark forest. He wrenched free but kept up with her.

After a few minutes of running, the rustling in the trees were back and she cursed when a creeper dropped and exploded next to her. It didn't stop the duo; instead it seemed to encourage them.

"Ahead, the light," Genesis screamed in panic. Every step made the light grow, and the trees ended after the light. She was so caught up with trying to get to the end of the forest she didn't realize Samael had fallen behind.

"Wait, Genesis back up!" He tried warning her and bit his tongue shortly before a nearby creeper dropped in front of her. She barreled into it, tripping and sprawling onto the stone road. She had very little time to react and just covered her head. At this distance, creepers were nothing but deadly.

Samael jumped forward with a futile yell. Genesis rolled over and smashed it with her bow with a snarl. Another creeper stepped into exploding distance but was quickly knocked away by Samael's white sword. They both breathed a sigh of relief but Genesis scrambled to her feet when the blonde boy sprinted past her. The light was so close now, and it only took a couple more steps before they busted out of the forest.

Everything that was chasing them vanished like some sort of twisted illusion, along with any injuries they sustained. Samael heaved a large breath and looked up in front of them. Genesis followed his eyes with a couple gasps and smiled.

"We made it."

* * *

**A.N. Anything that was confusing in this chapter should hopefully clear up next chapter whenever I get that done.**


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